How much will it cost to ride the Silver Line?

WASHINGTON — After a week of implementing a small-scale emergency response drill and testing logistics, WMATA says all systems are “go” for a summer roll-out of Phase 1 of Metro’s Silver Line.

Will you be riding the new line? You might want to find out what it costs, and how long it will take to get from point A to point B, before you pass through the train’s sliding doors. WMATA’s new trip calculator on Silver Line’s official website gives riders an idea of what to expect.

Passengers boarding a Green or Yellow Metro train at the West Hyattsville stop in Maryland, with a transfer at L’Enfant Plaza, can expect a trip to Tysons Corner that takes 57 minutes and costs $5.90 during rush hour.

The trip from Wiehle-Reston East to Downtown D.C. will take 39 minutes during rush hour. On the weekend, a train to a game at Verizon Center/Gallery Place will take 56 minutes from Wiehle-Reston East station.

Looking ahead, Metro believes 25,000 riders will use the Silver Line daily by the end of its first year of service. This equals 50,000 trips each day.

“The lion’s share of those would probably be Fairfax County to get to Arlington and to get Downtown,” says Metro Assistant General Manager Lynn Bowersox.

With the schedule still on-track to launch the Silver Line this summer, Metro employees are continuing to familiarize themselves with the line’s new stations, and track-testing continues. But before passengers can board the trains, the Tri-State Oversight Committee must give the project the green light.

When asked about an actual start date, Bowersox says, it will be mid-June before Metro knows more.

Metro spokesperson Dan Stessel says this weekend’s emergency drill with law enforcement in Fairfax County, Va., was a success, and that another large-scale drill will be held later this month.

A marketing blitz, of sorts, is underway, as Metro gets the word out about the coming service. But Bowersox says there are still many misconceptions when it comes to what will be offered. She says some passengers think the Silver Line trains will go to Dulles Airport, but that won’t happen until Phase 2.